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full stature: 



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Significance of the Wounds 



INFLICTED IX THE 



BODY OF OUR SAVIOR. 



BY REV. H. B.'MILNER, 
Pastor of Cumberland Prevsbyterian Church, Paducah, K.y. 



18S2: 
Leigh Bros., Book and Job Prs., Paducah, Ky^ 



THE 



full stature: 



-OR- 



Significance of (lie Wounds 

INFLICTED IN THE 

BODY OF OUR SAVIOR 

The Library 
OF Co: ;s 






3Y R^^. s Irl,l!.,-UiL.\-i:R. 
Pastor of ' ';m|fr;.rin-.->n Presjivterian Church] Paducah, K\ 



rY RIGHT. «# 

Ju & I 

Leigh Bros., Book and Job Prs. s Paducah, Ky. 






PREFACE. 

These pages have been written with the two-fold faint 
hope of doing good and getting good. The good that was 
hoped to be done was the furnishing of some practical truth 
in such a simple manner that the commonest reader might 
peruse with pleasure and understanding. All technicalities 
and far-fetched illustrations, therefore, have been studiously 
avoided, and such language used as will render the ideas 
intended to be conveyed perfectly comprehensible. 

Mv means and resources are so limited, that I have had 
recourse to no author — have not even a commentary in 
my little library. Whatever of error may be found, exer- 
else that degree of charitv that characterizes the true and 
^ood. After maturer deliberation and more consecration 
we have arrived to the point where we feel that if this little 
accomplishes any good we will be satisfied. 

Hoping that it will be received as an humble and earnest 
effort to do good, I subscribe myself, most truly, a public 
servant. HENRY B. M, 

Paducah, Ky., May iS, 1SS2. 



Copyright. 1882. by II. B. MilnBR. 



i 

CHAPTER I. 

INTEODUCTIOX 



Perhaps there Is not a proposition connected 
with the economy of the system of grace inaugur- 
ated for the salvation of the race more universally 
conceded by the thinkers and writers, ancient and 
modern, o1 the Christian world, than that the 
crucifixion of Christ was for the purpose of aton- 
ing for the sins of the world. It is expressly 
stated that u We see Jesus, who was made a little 
lower than the angels for the suffering of death, 
crowned with glory and honor ; that he by the 
grace of God should taste death for every man/' 
Also, that because of the infinite love of God, the 
Son was given, that the world, through him, 
might be saved and that he is the propitiation for 
our sins. These express declarations, in conjunc- 
tion with all the teachings and precepts of Christ, 
ought to establish the idea of an atonement — a 
propitiation beyond all question, — and does to the * 
minds of millions. But it seems that those things 
which, bv their very nature and the evidence sus- 
taining them, should admit of the least doubt, and 
require the fewest arguments for their unques- 



tionable establishment, have been the most thor- 



4 THE FULL STATURE. 

oughly ventilated by the scholars in every age of 

the world. Theologians have written thousands 

of pages and exhausted every argument to estab- 
lish the fulness and extent of Vclq atonement. 
They have discussed it from every standpoint; pre- 
sented it in all its phases ; expanded all its bearings 
and agreed generally on its purposes, and still the 
subject is discussed to-day with unrelenting enthu- 
siasm. Baptism, the Communion, the Resurrec- 
tion, have ail been severely subjected to the same 
ordeal, and there are men below the mediocre 
to-day receiving some sort of a spasmodic impres- 
sion that these subjects have not been sufficiently 
ventilated, and are wasting much precious time 
discussing them. The conclusions in these discus- 
sions and the deductions made are in many 
respects the same to-day that they were hundreds 
of years ago, and still they occupy the thoughts 
of some of the best theologians of the world. A 
jj-reat deal of this may be attributable to the fact 
that the majority of authors are particularly fond 
of investigating propositions that admit of the 
most satisfactory and indubitable solution. Not 
only this (i. e., this discussion), but all the mira- 
cles and parables of our Lord have been discussed. 
and their significance considered. Volumes have 
been written on the miracles and parables, and 
they have been preached from every pulpit in the 



THE FULL STATURE. 



land. The crucifixion has had its share of venti- 
lation. It has been presented as the fulfillment of 

prophecy. It has been argued that Christ was 
sacrificed to the ire and caprice of an infuriated 
mob. An order of. theologians claims that it was 
a free will offering, and another that it was decreed 
and therefore inevitable. With all these various 
views and iearned discussions, and with all these 
questions clustering around the crucifixion, there 
is yet a question that, if it has ever been consid- 
ered, it has never been the privilege of the writer 
of these pages to peruse that consideration. Why 
was Christ crucified at all? Every one familiar 
with the laws and customs of the commonwealth 
of God will say without hesitation that Christ 
was a sacrifice, and that a sacrifice should be effi- 
cacious, its blood must be shed, for "without shed- 
ding blood there is no remission." Why was he 
not put to death in a less torturing manner as the 
sacrificial beasts were under the old dispensation ? 
Or, if he must be crucified, why not tie his hands 
and feet with cords to the cruciformed piece of wood 
and pierce his heart, that his life blood might flow 
down on the altar? Or more directly, why did 
they put a crown of thorns on Ins bead, drive 
nails through his hands and feet, and pierce his 
side? Another question : "Did those wounds in 
his head, side, hands and feet have any significance, 



THE FULL STATURE. 



or were they inflicted merely as necessary to his 

death ? It has never occurred to my mind that 
permission would have been granted to an infuri- 
ated mob to place a crown of thorns on the inno- 
cent head of the Son of God merely for the pur- 
pose of torturing him. or to manifest to the world 
to what an extent he was capable of enduring 
indignities without a murmur. Nor can I con- 
ceive that the merciful Father would have nails 
driven through his hands and feet, and a spear 
thrust into his side, merely to intensify his excru- 
ciating sufferings and exhibit his capabilities ot 
endurance. True, when the transaction is viewed 
from a hu man standpoint, and when the enthusiasm 
and high slaw of the burning; anger of the actors 
and the morbid condition of society and govern- 
ment are taken into consideration, we can readily 
conceive that this method of crucifixion was adopted 
as a means of expressing indignation and wrath. 
When we <2*o back in imagination to that awful 
hour, enter into the spirit of the raging multitude, 
imbibe the feelings of the disappointed Jew, have 
our moral sensibilities deadened by the malicious 
cries of the fiendish crowd, and have our souls 
contaminated by the infectious enthusiasm of the 
blasphemous rabble, we conceive that the crown, 
nails and spear were all instruments of torture, 
thev never perceiving that there could be anv sig- 



THE FULL STATURE. 



nificance attached to any of them. But when 

every fibre of our moral nature is aglow with the 

effulgence of God's presence, and every vein of our 
soul is traced with Divine love — the Divine nature 
and the primary element of all purity, — and we 
begin to contemplate the transaction with these 
principles of extreme tenderness and compassion 
dwelling in our hearts and reigning supreme 
throughout the dominions of our whole moral 
capacity, we are at first filled with indignation, 
which in a moment gives place to pity. While we 

CD A. J %J 

thus view the scene, prompted by the tenderness 
of love and pity for the suffering, we begin lo 
enquire whether some other plan could have been 
invented lor the salvation of the world,. and some- 
times in fits of enthusiasm we burst out in words 
like these : " Could not God have wrought the 
salvation of the world at one stroke and thereby, 
not onlv make a grand display of mercy and com- 
passion, but also of His own omnific power?" 
However all these questions are to but little purpose, 
for we can onlv conclude that the crucifixion was 
the fulfillment of God's own plan, and therefore 
exactly right ; and all questions appertaining 
thereto must be discussed from one standpoint. 
and that is, that our Savior was put to de&th in 
the manner described in the New Testament. 
Considering;, then, that it was the fulfillment of 



8 THE FULL STATURE. 

prophecy — a culmination of a regular process of 
development in the economy of grace, a legitimate 
transaction— the original question remains unan- 
swered, viz. : Did the wounds Christ received at 
the hands of his malefactors have any significance? 
Having raised this question without any direct 
Scriptural proof, we shall now assume that the 
wound inflicted by the crown of thorns, and those 
in the hands and feet and side, all have a clear, 
spiritual significance, Having made this hypo- 
thetical assumption we shall proceed to its estab- 
lishment in the fear of God and in the light of 
truth. 



CHAPTER II. 
THE SOUECE OF PEOOF. 

Christ was sent into the world simply according 
to the law of sanctification, and this law was ful- 
filled by him in his life work, and in the laying 
down of his life for the sheep, to the letter and 
spirit. " The true law of every life is consecration 
to God, ? ' and Christ left the celestial worlds of 
glory by this law. He lived a life full of events 

and episodes — a life of affliction and indignity by 
this law. He laid his life down and died for the 



THE FULL STATURE 



the salvation of the world by the same law. Sanc- 
tification, as taught in the Scriptures, is three-fold, 
and our Savior fulfilled its law in all of its bear- 
ings. In order that we may arrive at a better 
understanding of what is meant by our Savior 
coming into the world, and living and dying by the 
law of sanctification, it is necessary to trace the 
history of the term, ami give its definition. 

1. It means to separate. 

2. To set apart for some purpose, 

3. To devote to some purpose. 

When God " created the heaven and the earth," 
and all things therein contained, and after the 
division of time into days and nisrhts for the con 
venience and pleasure of the living beings and for 
for the growth and development of all vegetation, 
and after the revolution of the earth had com- 
plete this division and was ready for its repetition, 
" God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it," 
Seven is a number in the Hebrew expressive of 
fulness — completion, arising, perhaps, from the 
fact that on that day God completed the work of 
creation, which. He crowned with man — a masrnifi- 
cent specimen of His wisdom and workmanship. 
In His wisdom He so aranged the planetary system 
of His creation, that it isneeessarv for a revolution 
of the earth to brino; forth a day and night. The 
macliinerv by which this operation is carried on is 



io THE FULL STATURE. 

so minutely and accurately arranged, that, like the 
machinery of a watch that divides time into hours, 
minutes and seconds, the earth from the beginning, 
according to God's own arrangement, revolves 
seven times, marks off seven days and seven nights; 
then beginning at nothing, goes on through the 
same routine of revolutions for another seven clays, 
and so on till time shall end. This seventh revolu- 
tion being the completion — the fulness of time. 
God separated it — the day it made from the other 
six as a time to be set apart for rest, and devoted 
to purposes of holiness. It is evident that the 
seventh day — the time marked by the seventh 
revolution of the earth on its axis — possesses no 
particular elements of sanctity or holiness, nor has 
it anv power over any other day to infuse holiness 
into the souls of those who live through it. but it 

en > 

was simply separated from -the other divisions of 
time marked by the same action of natural law 
and set apart to be devoted to holy purposes. 

One more illustration: After God had manifested 
His power before the Egyptian king nine times to 
no purpose, or at least to no effect so far as the 
king was concerned, He selected another method 
of displaying His power and carrying out His 
purposes — the destruction of the first-born, both 
of man and. of beast. When the destroying angel 
passed through Egypt invested with authority 



THE FULL STATURE. n 

from Heaven to execute this decision, be found all 
the first-born of the Israelites separated from the 
first-born of the Egyptians, and this separation 
designated, by blood previously sprinkled on the 
lintel and two side posts. This was the first step 
in the progressive law of sanctifieation. When 
this initiatory and preparatory step had been tak- 
en and recorded to mark an epoch in the history 
of the commonwealth of God in the world, the 
Lord gave His law -giver a supplementary expla- 
nation of this law of separation and sanctincation 
in an express statute, viz. : "Sanctify unto me all 
the first-born, whatsoever openeth the womb 
among the children of Israel, both of man and of 
beast : it is mine," That is, "separate them Jrom 
all those born before them, and set them apart to 
be devoted to purposes of holiness." They were 
not made holy, but simply set apart ; for if there 
was any holiness imparted, the first-born of the 
beast received as much of it as the first-born of 
Israel's children. God here- began the process of 
sanctincation, by which He intended to brino- 
forth in the fulness of time an ideal sanctified man. 
It began in the blood, it was completed in the blood. 
There is still another scriptural illustration in which 
is brought out the third division of the definition 
of sanctincation according to our discussion. At 
the institution of the priesthood, a very solemn 



12 THE FULL STATURE. 

. , . _^ — _ 

and significant ceremony was appointed. Moses 

was to take Aaron and his sons and separate them 
from all the other men of Israel ; separate them 
from all the avocations of all other men ; separate 
them from all the callings of all other men ; sepa- 
rate them from all the offices of all other men, and 
set them apart by means of this solemn ceremony 
to be devoted to holy purposes, that is. that they 
might devote themselves to purposes of holiness, 
They had passions and emotions like other men, and 
were as liable to err as other men, and these pas- 
sions and emotions and liabilities were not taken 
from them, nor were they made holy, as is shown 
in the sequel. The intoxication of Nadab and 
Abihu, their strange action and no less strange 
death testify to the absence of holiness in their 
hearts. It was not the intention of the Lord to 
make them holy according; to our ideas of holiness, 
but to separate them from the avocations and of- 
fices of the other men in the commonwealth, as 
the beginning of a successive order, the culmi- 
nation of which should be the sanctiiication 
of the King of (xlory. The previous separations 
and sanctiii nations— ^-previous to the separation 
of Aaron and his sods — were performed wholly 
by the officiating persons: but now the separation 
am! setting apart only are performed by the offic- 
iating officer ; the devotion to be performed by the 



THE FULL STATURE. 13 

individual sanctified. God sanctified the Sab- 
bath. Closes, officiating for the Lord God of 
Heaven, sanctified the first-born, the Taberna- 
cle. Aaron and his sons. The sanctification of the 
Sabbath is simnlv a conclusion of the Divine mind 
resulting from the fact that on it He finished His 
work and rested from all His works and He there- 
fore considered this division of time entitled to a 
pre-eminence in the catalogue of days. The day 
— lifeless division of time — the passive factor in 
this transaction, it is true, had no power to deviate 
itself, but because the thing done is predicated on 
the fact that it was the beginning of a process that 
should continue to the beginning of the reciprocal 
sanctification. it carried with it the idea of devo- 
tion. When Moses sanctified the beast and the 
tabernacle, they were to be used by him [devoted] 
for hoiv purposes. When he sanctified Aaron 

« J. X 

and his sons. tln i y having the will power, were to 
devote themselves to holy purposes. 

Our proposition is that Christ was sent into the 
world by this law of separating, setting apart, 
and of devoting. In a discussion with the Jews 
in reference to his Sonship, and when the Jews 
accused him of blasphemy, he rebuked them with 
this question : u Say 3^e of whom the Father hath 
sanctified and sent into the world, thoublasphemest; 
because I said, I am the Son of God?" (John 



i 4 THE FULL STATURE. 

x. 36.) The Father separated him from all the 
glorified host of heaven, separated him from the 
Holy Trinity, from the angels, from the thrones 
and glittering spires of the world of glory, from 
the sacred walks of the precincts of heaven, from 
the glory he had 1rom the foundation of the world, 
from his equality with God, and set him apart 
from all these to devote himself to a life of perfect 
holiness — yea, to devote himself to a shameful 
death for the salvation of the world. Having been 
thus separated and set apart, he began his life work 
by devoting himself to the instructions and wants 
of suite ring humanity; or rather he began the sane- 
tification of himself, bv devoting his time and 
talents to the alleviation of suffering humanity, 
and completed it by devoting himself, his life-blood, 
on the cross as a sacrificial altar for the sanctifica- 
tion of his followers. "And for their sakes I sanc- 
tify myself,'' said he, in that famous intercessory 
prayer, iC that they also might be sanctified through 
the truth." He was the only person who ever 
fulfilled this law to its utmost limits. 



CHAPTER III. 

THE TEACHINGS OF CHEIST INDICATING 

THE LIFE CHARACTER OF HIS 

FOLLOWERS. 

The term sanctifieation has gone through so 
many guises from the Sabbatical setting apart at 
the close of creation that all appertaining to its 
practical application is in shreds and fragments, 
and must be gathered up cautiously and linked 
together with care in order to get at that part 
that we must act in our lives as Christians. A 
little has been said here, and a little there. The 
shades of meaning the word has been made to 
convey in its uses in the Scriptures are as varied 
as the shades of the summer clouds that float 
through the air over our heads. Conceding all its 
meanings, we claim there is still another that has 
never been discussed — a light in which it never 
has been presented. We claim that it conveys 
the idea of a process that needed development, 
and that this development was completed in the 
death of our Savior and left as a model for us as 
Christians — as his followers — to correct and purify 
our lives. 

It is necessary for us to go once more to the 



16 THE FULL STATURE. 

life and times of Moses for the first link in the 

chain we are tracing. At the Aaronic conse- 
cration the great law-giver stood with the words 
of God ringing in his ears, and touched with the 
typical blood of a sacrificed animal the Levites' 
right hand, right ear and right foot. " This was 
his san edification, It devoted every faculty and 
every power 7 ' — walking and doing — the right 
hand, the right foot — the first, the choicest faculties 
— the first-fruits of his life. He stood before God 
separated— his hands separated from the doing of 
wrong, from touching unclean things, from hand- 
ling accursed things, and set apart to be devoted to 
the performance of deeds of kindness, to the per- 
formance of acts of goodness, devoted to the ser- 
vice of God, His feet were separated from the 
haunts of vice and immorality, and set apart to 
walk "uprightly and circumspectly before God." 
God was here inaugurating, step by step, a plan, 
the development of which should, in the "fulness 
of time," bring forth a fully consecrated Man- — a 
Theanthropos, who should fill the ideal and submit 
a fuller model and give more explicit directions 
for making the pattern. After his appearance at 
that srreat assemblv on the brink of the river 
Jordan where John was engaged in his preparatory 
work, and was baptised, he began his life work. 
He was doubly commissioned. The Holy Spirit 



THE FULL STATURE. 17 



came down from God out of Heaven, assumed the 

form and bodily shape of a dove — one of the 

feathered tribe— and lighted upon his head as the 

divine attestation to John of Christ's origin and 

holy connection. That there should be another 

testimony — another witness, a voice from Heaven 

said : "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well 

pleased. 7 ' Immediately he was led up into the 

wilderness to submit himself to another ordeal. 

preparatory to entering upon his great and grand 

mission in the world. When he was come down 

he began to go about to do good ; go about to devote 

himself and administer to the wants of suffering 

humanity. He walked with holy feet, separated 

from everv- contaminating influence, along the 

classic shores of the Sea of Galilee, and enticed 

poor fishermen to leave their nets and follow him. 

He walked from Judea to Galilee, from Nazareth 

1 Capernaum, and making that the centre of his 

field of operations, he walked about all Galilee. 

teaching and healing all manner of disease everv- 

where. He walked, a living light to all the poor 

wanderers in darkness — a living lvproof to the 

presumptuous Pharisee and the proud, common 

Jew. He walked into the Temple, and stood 

among its sacred altars and sowed the seeds of 

truth — taught those who worshiped there the idea 

of consecration. He walked to the bedside of the 



18 THE FULL STATURE. 

poor, sick woman. He walked to the bier where 
lay the lifeless form of a little girl. He walked to 
the grave of a man dead and buried. Wherever 
his feet carried him he spake words of truth, and 
performed deeds of kindness. He made ointment 
of spittle and clay with his hand, doubtless his right 
hand, and anointed the sightless eyes of a poor, 
unfortunate human being, and sent him away with 
the glories and grandeurs of nature spread out 
before his seeing eyes. 

When the bold, impetuous Disciple stepped 

• 

out on the turbulent bosom of # the tempest-enraged 
sea, and began to sink beneath its surging billows, 
the Savior stretched forth his hand and caught him 
and saved him. When the Scribes and Pharisees 
brought a sin-stained woman to him, and asked 
his judgment in the matter, he " stooped down' 
and wrote on the ground with the lingers of his 
hand. He broke bread with his hanns, and 
gave it to the Disciples. He washed the 
Disciples' feet with his hands. His walk 
was holy and upright; his performances, his 
actions were all good and true. While he 
thus walked with his feet, and worked with 
his hands, his heart throbbed with goodness, 
his thoughts emanated from a fountain of purity, 
and his words fell from his lips touched with holy 
fire, His walk and and all his actions were highly 



THE FULL STATURE. 19 

symbolic. A sower went forth to sow, and some 
seed fell on stony places, and some on good ground. 
He walked over the field on his feet, and scattered 
the seeds with his hands. A man planted a vine- 
yard. He waikcd over the ground on his feet, 
and dug the holes in the ground and set the vines 
with his hands. A man received five talents, and 
he gained with that five other talents. His feet 
carried him about his work — to the fields ; to the 
brokers ; to the exchangers, and wherever he went, 
and when he was there his hands did the work. 

But our Savior must be put to death. Every- 
thing, like the sanctification ol the tabernacle and 
the Levitical priest, must be separated and set 
apart by the sprinkling of blood that " speaketh 
better things than that of Abel." Blood is the 
life of the animal, and it must be shed for the 
remission of sins and the sanctification of the 
blood-washed throng that hope for life in the blood 
of the covenant. The time soon came when Jesus, 
the Son of David, Christ, the Son of God, must 
lay down his own life, shed his own blood, sanctify 
or devote himself — '-for their sakes I sanctif}^ 
myself." "Therefore doth my Father love me, 
because I lay down my life, that I might take it 
again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it 
down myself. I have power to lay it down, and I 
have power to take it again." (John x. 17, 18.) 



2o THE FULL STATURE. 



It would not have been a complete sanctifieation— ■ 

a complete devotion — if he had not laid down his 
own life. If he had been seized by an overpower- 
ing posse of armed men, and dragged from the 
courts of heaven, and slaughtered like an animal, 
it would not have been a devotion. But he came 
himself- — laid down his own life — shed his own 
blood. In the Garden of ' iethsemane, when he 
bowed himself down on God's footstool ; when he 
felt the sins of the world pressing down upon him ; 
when agony almost intolerable boiled up' in his 
soul, he began to shed the propitious blood, because 
he sweat great drops of blood. But this was not 
sufficient — too indefinite. He must devote himself 
on the altar, and satisfy the law fully. A crown 
of thorns was plaited and pressed down upon his 
hea I till the blood ran down over his holy temples. 
He was then led up to the cross and crucified. 
His wrists and ankles were not bound to the cross 
with cords, as other criminals were, but nails — iron 
spikes — were driven through his hands and through 
his feet. Blood came from his hands, and from 
his leet, and from his head, and from his side. All 
this for the salvation, sane till cation and glorifica- 
tion of a lost and ruined world ! How significant ! 
Blood trickling down from the innocent hands and 
feet of the Redeemer of the world, sanctifying the 
altar, and fulfilling the law of sacrifices. Now, let 



THE FULL STATURE. 21 



us take all these and trace them by the laws of 
analogy to their legitimate result, and endeavor 
to correct our lives by the consequences, if there 
is any meaning in this shedding blood. If not — if 
all our reasoning is false — let us endeavor to profit 
by the thoughts suggested. 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE CKOWN OF THOKNS. 

Of course the Jews did not intend any good to 
the world to result from the crucifixion of our 
Savior. When they plaited a crown of thorns and 
placed it upon his head they did not intend it 
should be an emblem of his kingship— an emblem 
of his being crowned " Lord of Lords and King 
of Kings," in the kingdom ot glory. They did 
not believe that any good could in any wise result 
from his life, and consequently no good could come 
of his crucifixion, more than ridding society and 
the commonwealth of Israel ot the influence of 
his teachings. With them it resulted from a <le- 
sire to protect themselves against fraud. It was a 
malicious procedure, a wicked mockery. He said 
he had power to build the temple in three days. 



THE FULL STATURE, 



He should be king. A crown is indicative of glory 7 

and they plaited a crown of thorns, indicative of 
the kind of glory that should result from his king- 
ship ; indicative of the ignominious death that was 
about to close his career. But God had a hand in 
the matter. He had already said, "the shedding 
of blood is for the remission of sins." Blood is 
the element of sanctification, A crown of thorns 
was placed upon his head to produce a flow of 
the blood that was tor the setting apart, the 
sanctification of the mind. The blood came 
from the head, the seat of tne intellect, the 
seat of the will, the seat of all the mental 
faculties "When we say mind, it will be un- 
derstood that we do not refer to any particular 
faculty, as the will, reason, understanding, etc., 
but to the whole mind. We can not step aside 
from our chain of reasoning to enter into a meta- 
physical discussion of the mind — its faculties, their 
scope and nature; for wo are discussing as a whole, 
and not as properties. This definition will suffice 
us : it is that part of our nature with which we 
think, will, and act. Kor shall we endeavor to 
separate and distinguish the mind from the prov- 
ince of the moral sensibilities: for we have an idea 
that the mental and moral **re so inseparably con- 
nected that they are reciprocal in a majority, if 
not all, of their operations. Whatever the mental 



THE FULL STATURE. 23 

receives, the moral receives, Bv methods of reas- 
oning, we arrive at conclusions that certain courses, 
if persisted in, will carry us to evil consequences. 
The mental faculties having brought us to such 
conclusions, we are impressed that a different 
course would be better, 

A man is a sinner, living under a delusion. The 
gospel — "the pow r er of God unto salvation," is 
expounded to him. His mind is informed. His 
judgment is that he ought to change his course. 
His will refers the matter to his heart. The heart 
receives an impression, a realization, a conviction for 
sin. These convictions are evolved in'e the mind 
and referred again to the will. The will, as the 
executive part of the mind, makes a decision. 
They are like the senses of taste and smell. The 
ol factory nerves are delighted with the fragrance 
of the rose. The knowledge of the existence of 
a rose is at once conveyed to the mini. The es- 
sence ol the rose, by chewing its petals or other- 
wise, is touched to the sense of taste. The knowl- 
edge of its existence is as quickly conveyed to the 
mind as by the acuteness of the olfactories. So 
with the heart and mind: thfe reason of the gospel 
is presented to the mind, the motives arising from 
the heart prompt to action, and the will determines 
the course of action. Without discussing these 
relations and this state of reciprocity, let us now 



24 THE FULL STATURE. 

take up the idea of our plan. The mind is in a 

state of rebellion against God. It is in opposition 
to His operations and using all its subtle nature to 
drive away the influence of the Holy Spirit and does 
not delight in the law of God. The will is per- 
verted, and all its decisions as chief executive of 
the mind are perverse. It acts contrary to the 
will of God, and if it were in its power would 
lock His mercies, unfurl the banners of " spiritual 
wickedness in high places," and wreck the moral 
universe. It is opposed to the scheme of redemp- 
tion and the system of grace inaugurated by the 
Father and Son. The thoughts are reveling amid 
the transient, seeming pleasures of sin and wicked- 
ness; devising plans and seeking out inventions 
for the gratification of the avaricious desires. It 
is i: enmity against God, not subject to the law of 
God, neither indeed can be." "My thoughts are 
not vour thoughts, neither are your ways iiiy 
ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are 
higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than 
your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." 
The unsubjected mind, the low, groveling thoughts 
must all be brought within the purview of the 
mission of the. Ho ! y Ghost. " Be not conformed 
to this world, but be ye transformed by the renew- 
ing of your minds, that ye may prove what is that 
good and acceptable and perfect will of God." Pe 



THE FULL STATURE. 



--. *> 



changed in the spirit and temper of your mind, 

that your thoughts may not be conformed to the 
maxims, customs and sinful habits of the worM. 
Christ shed his blood from his head, the seat of 
intellect, emblematical of the sanctification of all 
the mental faculties, that his followers should be 
complete in him, and instead of being absorbed, 
day and night in the affairs of the world and re- 
volving plans for the amassing of wealth, they 
should be meditating in the law of the Lord. The 
priest was anointed and set apart by having the 
anointing element poured on his head, indicating 
that his mind should be separated from every other 
engagement — from every entanglement, — an d 
devoted altogether to the care of the sanctuary 
and the study of the law of sacrifices. So was the 
blood from the innocent temples of the Lord Jesus 
indicative of intellectual separation. As the mind 
is the receptacle of knowledge, it is necessary that 
it be separated from all evil, and set apart for the 
reception of a knowledge of holy things, to be 
devoted to holy purposes. The memory needs 
separation and setting apart, that it may be devoted 
to the retention of holy, sacred truths. The judu*- 
merit, the jury of the mental court, needs separa- 
tion from evil, that it may jud^e between truth 
and error, weigh the evidences of the witnesses. 
and render a verdict according to law and evidence. 



26 THE FULL STATURE. 

The perception needs separation from the contam- 
inating influences of evil that it may perceive the 
truth, and discriminate between right and wrong. 
Having the mind in its entirety, with all its facul- 
ties separated from every shadow and appearance 
of evil; separated from the lusts and licentiousness 
of the world; separated from murders, adulteries 
and all uncleanness of worldly-minded ness, renewed 
within its spirit, it is ready for devotion to God, 
A mind separated from every influence than that 
brought to bear by the love of God, with every 
thought inspired by the Holy Spirit, is guaranteed 
a peace " calm as a river/' tor the old prophet hath 
declared in an outburst of enthusiasm: "Thou, 
wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is 
staid on Thee." This renewal of the spirit of the 
mind and purifying of the thoughts is produced 
by the sanctifying influence of the Spirit, of which 
the precious blood was a fitting representative. 
We mean the separation is produced by the sancti- 
fying influences of the spirit brought to bear in 
conversion. The thoughts are trained lor this 
holy and exclusive devotion by reading the Bible 
and meditating on its teachings. From this medi- 
tation and delight in the law we are soon found in 
that happy state in which we see Go 1 in every- 
thing. Our waking thoughts are seeking ways 
and means to please Him, and in our dreams we 



THE FULL STATURE. 27 

would be " nearer ,; to Him. The thoughts are 

not circumscribed by the limits of prayer-meetings, 
public services on the Sabbath day; but the 
thoughts of such a mind can find exquisite pleas- 
ure reveling amid the grandeurs and glories of na- 
ture, because by such, nature will always be regard- 
ed as the handiwork of a merciful Father. The 
veriest little flower that blossoms by the wayside, 
and gives its fragrance to the soft zephyrs that fan 
its tiny petals, will be considered with exquisite 
delight, and handled with extreme tenderness, 
because the same Father made it who gave his 
Son for the redemption of the world. The laws 
of its germination, growth and development; the 
perfect shades of its comeliness; the interesting 
beauty an<! adaptability of the tint and hue of its 
coloring, are all dwelt upon with a kind of thrilling 
delight, and considered with the most cautious 
and exact calculation, because, through all the laby- 
rinths and mysteries of germination, the resources 
of growth, and the forces of development, the 
wisdom and love of the Creator and Preserver of 
our lives are traced with unmistakable certainty. 
As the mind unfolds the pages of the oblivious 
Past, and follows, step by step, the geological devel- 
opments of the earth to its grand perfection, all 
along the '-footprints of time" the impress of the 
same wisdom and love is seen. And when it goes 



2S THE FULL STATURE. 

and dwells among trie rolling tvorlds above us, and 

on aerial wings flies from star to star, calculates 
their distances, weighs their densities, measures 
their magnitudes, and circumscribes their orbal 
flights, it sees wisdom in the distances, wisdom in 
the densities, wisdom in the magnitudes, and wis- 
dom in the flights. So in all the departments of 
science, the same dependence, the same wisdom, 
is seen. 

But it is not confined to the world — oh, no! A 
chain is constructed out of the glittering promises 
of our Saviour and one end hung on the strong, 
never-faltering arm of the Lord Jesus, at the right 
of the great white throne in Heaven. The sepa- 
rated mind climbs the chain link after link till it 
reaches the domes and glittering spires of the man- 
sions on high, and there with the seraphim that 
stand around the throne surveys the elysian plains 
of the glory world. Love, ineffable, unutterable, 
fills the soul, while the thoughts are mingling with 
such holy, such glorious things, and oh ! how we 
long to u quit this mortal frame and soar to worlds 
on high.'' Such thoughts are devoted to the ser- 
vice of God: devoted to the invention of schemes 
for the promulgation of truth : devoted to the 
study of the gospel and to the devising of means 
for the upbuilding of the kingdom of Christ. It 
will have no time for schemes of speculation, un- 



THE FULL STATURE. 29 



less those schemes have for their object the glory 
of God. When God and his love fills the mind to 
the exclusion of all wicked thoughts, peace of con- 
science is the result, Our thoughts, led in the 
channel pointed out, will lead us to glory. The 
sanctuary, where the words of eternal truth are 
expounded and the system of grace is presented, 
will ever be considered a source of pleasure, be- 
cause food for thought is served. 

What more can I say than that if our minds 
were separated from every evil influence and filled 
to its entire capacity with God, there would be in- 
finite pleasure in the flight of a bird, in the dole- 
ful twittering of the ugly frog, in the neighing of 
a horse, in the budding of a 'rose, in the falling 
rain-drop, in a ray of sunshine ? 



CHAPTER V. 

THE SPEAE. 

u But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and 
forthwith came there out blood and water." — John 
xix, 34. 

When Moses led out Aaron and his sons from 

the congregation of the Israelites, the first step in 

sanctifying them for the priesthood was to take 



jo THE FULL STATURE, 

water and wash them; emblematical of the pure 

life they were to lead, and symbolical of the pure 
and holy lite of the Lord Jesus, the great High 
Priest forever. Water is a representative element, 
possessing the properties of purification and clean- 
liness. On account of its purifying properties, it 
has been essential to the pleasure and comfort of 
the races of. men throughout all the ages of the 
world. It is noted, without any grounds for con- 
tradiction, that the purer the water, the more 
powerful it is in the dissolution and removal of 
uncleanness. But it is not only invested with the 
properties of external purification. Without it, 
the internal organism of the physical constitution 
would be incomplete ; all its functions would not 
be exercised; the blood itself would be impure, 
and there would be no saliva to prevent dryness 
in the mouth. However, this is only an imperfect 
index to the important position this element occu- 
pies in the physical universe, and does not, in any 
way, concern the question at issue. Water is used 
by Ezekiel to represent the fulness and freeness of 
the plan of salvation. Inasmuch as it is used to 
slake thirst, and moisten and cool the parched lips, 
it is taken by our Savior to represent the soothing 
and satisfying effect of the love of God, 

When fever burns our bodies and parches our 
lips, and when we are in a famishing condition, 



THE FULL STATURE. 31 

there is nothing that slakes our thirst, cools our 

lips so soothingly, as pure, cold water. So when 
we are out on the barren wastes of sin and wick- 
edness, all our moral nature famishing and dying, 
our hearts longing for some soothing balm, the 
love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the 
Holy G-host given unto us, to cool our burning 
spirit and satisfy our longings, by giving us the 
assurances of the forgiveness of sin. When our 
Savior was crucified, and a spear thrust into his 
side, there came forth both blood and water- — the 
water to represent the " washing of regeneration " 
— the blood to expiate the crimes of a guilty race; 
for without the shedding' of blood there is no 
remission. Both these symbols came from the 
heart of the Lord Jesus, who was already dead. 

Long years ago, when looking through the vista 
of time, and noting the successive developments 
in the plan of salvation, the prophet saw them 
look upon him whom they pierced. The narrator 
of the transaclion says it«was done that the Scrip- 
ture " might be fulfilled M — a favorite reason of this 
writer for many things that were clone in the life 
and times of Jesus. It seems, however, that there 
is a more potent reason for the piercing of his 
side than merely the fulfilling of prophecy. He 
was already dead, and therefore did not need that 
additional imposition, that additional degradation, 



32 THE FULL STATURE, 

to hasten his death. He was already offered, 

already crucified, had already completed the plan 
of salvation, but the representative elements had 
not all been exposed. These elements came from 
his heart, the seat of life, the representative" seat 
of spiritual life. We are dead in trespasses and in 
sins, and need some resuscitating element, some 
revivifying influence, to restore us to life and fit 
us for perpetual living. That deadness is of the 
heart, the moral nature. It is a spiritual deadness, 
and the operative power in the restoration must be 
spiritual. It is a state of opposition to God, a lost 
state of darkness, from which w^e must be born, 
and this birth is breiiffht about bv faith in 
our Lord Jesus Christ, and the purifi- 
cation of the heart results from the applica- 
tion of the blood by the spirit. By faith we are 
justified, and faith alone carries us no farther than 
justification in the eyes of the law, and while we 
stand thus justified, by the grace of God — the 
M washing of regeneration" — we are made whole 
and fit for the Master's use. The soul thus born 
from above is as pure as it ever becomes in this 
life. Its capacities and susceptibilities may be 
enlarged, but the purity of its nature is just the 
same. ' These elements coming from the seat of 
moral life, represent that the heart, the seat of 
moral life, is to be purified by the Holy Spirit, 



THE FULL STATURE. 3 $ 

buried into death with Christ. Make the fountain 

pure and the stream will be pure ; make the tree 
pure and the fruit will be good and pure. All the 
impulses and impetuosities of our nature arise 
from our moral nature — from the heart. Here 
the reciprocity of the mental and moral begin. 
Certain influences, as immediate causes, are brought 
to bear and the impulses are to some kind of action, 
some kind of exercise. We see certain things from 
which we receive peculiar impressions. We are 
prompted at once to exercise our thoughts in the 
matter. We observe certain traits in the charac- 
ters of individuals and intuitively we pass judg- 
ment upon them. Startling questions arise in 
society; wo have impulses about the matter, and if 
our hearts are filled with the love of God, the 
promptings will unquestionably be for the glory 
of the Divine Father. With the heart and mind 
purified — Christ living in the, soul, touching 
all it* fibres with the power of his love, 
sitting as umpire in the mental nature, gov- 
erning the mainspring of action, holding the 
reins of thought and feeling — the very nature of 
such a life will be sanctification. The mind has 
been separated from evil. Evil influences 
bend it not. The heart has been separated 
from evil. Evil influences prompt it not. 
Thoughts are sanctifying themselves in devo- 



34 THE FULL STATURE. 

tion. The impulses, the promptings of . the 
heart are devotion, and sanctifying themselves in 
devotion. The desires are separated from evil and 
prompted by the Holy Spirit. The affections are 
separated from evil and controlled by divine in- 
fluences. It may be truly said of such an one that 
the : - kingdom of heaven is within you/' and that 
they are " vessels unto honor." This is in brief 
the sanctification of the heart. 



CHAPTER VI. 

KAILS IX THE FEET. 

When Aaron was sanctified, his big toe on his 
right foot was touched with the consecrating 
blood, signifying that he should walk in holy 
places. His life was to be an example, a pattern, 
for those who came after him. His life was typical 
— an outer typical of an inner. Christ was one 
with the Father in Heaven, a Spirit, but when he 
was separated by the wisdom of the Three from 
the God -head, he took upon himself the form of 
sinful flesh and became a man, with ail the facul- 
ties and parts of the human being. He had feet 
to walk with, to carry him about to do good, and 



THE FULL STATURE. 35 

* 
hands to execute the decisions of his will. While 

he was on earth, he inaugurated a spiritual system, 
and by that system he makes all Christians com- 
plete in him, " having come in the unity of faith, 
and of a knowledge of the Son of God unto a 
perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of 
the fulness of Christ,*tbat we henceforth be no 
more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about 
with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of 
men and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in 
wait to deceive : but speaking the truth in love, 
may grow up into him in all things, which is the 
head, even Christ: from whom the whole body 
fitly joined together and compacted by that which 
eveiy joint supplieth, according to the effectual 
working in the measure of every part, maketh 
increase of the hody unto the edifying of itself in 
love." By this plan we are represented as having 
spiritual feet and walking spiritual walks. The 
natural feet are the natural means of locomotion, 
and on these feet the body moves about from 
place to place that we may engage in the business 
affairs of our lives, and pursue our vocations. 
There are two ways from this world. One leads 
to the mansions above, where all is bliss and glory; 
the other to the dungeons below, where all is 
darkness and misery. ^Ye are walking on these 
— either on the narrow or on the broad. As we 



36 THE FULL STATURE. 



walk on our feet, and move along over the surface 
of the earth, so wc are regular] v moving- along" in 
life—- moving on to death, The unholy man, the 
poor, miserable, darkened sinner, walks along the 
the broad road that leads to death and ruin on his 
unholy feet. The incendiary creeps along on his 
unholy feet, in the stillness of the night, enveloped 
in its darkness, to perpetrate his fieadish design. 
The robber skulks along; the narrow, dark alleys 
on unholy feet, The assassin walks along on h\is 
unholy feet, seeking to dispatch the life of a fellow 
being;. The debauchee walks on unholy feet to the 
halls of debauchery. Young men on uiholy feet 
walk along the haunts of revelry and dissipation, 
and young ladies frequent the ball room, the 
theatre, and on unholy feet dishonor God and 
sport with religion. When we see all these for- 
bidden paths frequented by teaming millions of 
intelligent young men and young ladies who are 
gradually and surely walking down to hell on 
their unholy feet, we want to find some means 
that will purify the fountain — the motive power; 
separate the feet from these unholy purposes, and 
sanctify them to God. 

Back to our idea of sanctifieatiom Our Savior 
shed his own precious blood from his own hoiy 
feet — a representative procedure, representing that 
the feet of all Christians are to be carefully and 



THE FULL STATURE. 37 

entirely separated from all the forbidden paths 
of vice and set apart to be sedulously devoted to 
the service of God. 

As the mind is to be separated from lustful 
speculations and the heart from evil and licentious- 
ness, so must the feet be separated from every for- 
bidden path ; separated from the path of dissipa- 
tion ; separated from the haunts of drunkenness 
and debauchery ; separated from the ball-room, 
the theatre and all conceivable paths that lead to 
sin. When this separation is carefully and min- 
utely made, the feet are set apart — sanctified — for 
a purpose, to be devoted to the service of God. 

Shall we stop here to inquire what our feet — our 
walking — have to do with our religious character? 
What have our feet to do with serving God? 
W 7 hy should the feet need such scrutinizing sepa- 
ration from all the paths and places of sinful 
pleasure? Go to God's word for the answer. 
"As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the 
Lord, so walk ye in him." " Walk in wisdom." 
W 7 alk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust 
of the flesh. ' ; Our Savior went about doing good, 
and he shed his blood from his feet, representing 
that our feet should be used to convey our bodies 
to places where we might do good. It is evi- 
dent that contamination arises from certain 
influences, and hence it follows that those in- 



; 5 S THE FULL STATURE. 

fluences are unwholesome and incongruous with 

the principles of our holy religion. That we may 
not be tinctured with that contaminating virus ; 
that its poisonous substance may not be infused 
into our nature, it is necessary for us to gu^rd our 
footsteps and circumscribe our daily walk. Wo 
need no express command, no Bible words, to 
teach that lustful walks are inconsistent with holi- 
ness. We see that those persons who frequent the 
ball-room, the theater and other places of vice, 
are never eminently spiritual : they always exhibit 
more gayety than spirituality — more worldliness 
than zeal. This cannot be disputed, and therefore 
it shows conclusively that these places and influ- 
ences are to be religiously avoided and prayerfully 
shunned. The temple of God hath no agreement 
with idols; neither do any of these places of dis- 
sipation and revelry have any agreement with the 
sanctity of religion. Then separate your feet from 
every evil and walk the heavenly road, looking to 
Jesus for guidance. Devote vour feet to the ser- 
vice of the Lord Jesus, and follow his footsteps 
along the pathway of life. If he lead you in stone 
wall sanctuaries, with carpeted floors and cush- 
ioned seats, follow him. If he lead you in the 
log cabin by the wayside, with split logs for seats, 
•follow him. If he lead you over the snow-peaked 
mountains, among the heathen, follow him, De- 



THE FULL STATURE. 39 

vote your feet to his service and lie will not forget 
to honor you. 

How beautiful are the feet of those who brins; 
glad tidings of good things ! Yea, figuratively, 
how beautiful are the feet of all who walk upright- 
ly and circumspectly before God, with their feet 
separated from all the paths of sin. "Walk by 
faith and not by sight," having your spiritual feet 
purified, and your walk will honor God. 



CHAPTER VII. 

NAILS IN THE HANDS. 

When Moses sanctified Aaron he touched the 
thumb of his right hand with the consecrating; 

blood. He did this, signifying that the hands of 
the priest were to be separated from all secular 
and sinful uses, and devoted to actions of holiness. 
The hands being the instruments of action, the 
executors of the executive, it was necessary that 
they should be separated from all evil. True, the 
hands act only in response to the will, but in the 
doctrine of priesthood sanctification, the idea of 
setting apart and devoting to holy purposes, the 
whole man was set apart, — the head, the body, the 



4 o THE FULL STATURE. 

feet and the hands. This was an external, typify- 
ing; an internal sanctification. u Touch not and 
handle not 7 ' was as much a doctrine, a precept, 
with them as it is with us of the present dispensa- 
tion. 

Our Savior has given the feet and hands a spir- 
itual turn and demanded their devotion to him and 
his cause, The hands, we have alreadv said, are 
the instruments of action, and by their manipula- 
tions and obedience to the behests of the will, nine- 
tenths of our sins are committed. The murderer 
takes the glistening dagger in his hand and skulks 
on his unholy feet in search of a victim, and when 
he has found him, with an unholy hand he plunges 
the dagger to his victim's heart. The assassin 
takes his dagger in his hands, grinds it with his 
hand ; or his pistol or gun he also takes in his 
hands, and with them he loads and charges these 
implements of destruction. With the same unholy 
hand he pulls the hammer back that is to strike the 
cartridge, and with the same hand he pulls the 
trigger that lets it down again. The burglar takes 
his tools, and in the stillness of the night picks 
the lock that fastens his neighbor's door, with his 
hands. He picks up the articles of his burglarious 
intention with defiled hands, and in his hand car- 
ries them away to be devoted to his own pleasure. 
The gambler holds his cards in his*hands. manip- 



THE FULL STATURE. 41 

ulates them with his hands, and gathers up his ill- 
gotten gain with his hands. The bar-keeper, 
who draws a pall of sorrow and sadness over 
many a once happy home, draws his liquor and 
measures it out to his quaffing customers, with 
defiled hands. We execute the majority of the 
decisions of our will, the intentions of our hearts, 
with our hands. If our hands are so important 
and stand so prominently before us, ready to touch 
unholy things and handle them to the damnation 
of our souls, ready to execute every decision of the 
will, whether good or bad, how aptly do they rep- 
resent that faculty of our moral nature which is 
exercised in the committing of sin ! How amply 
do these illustrations serve to show that it is nec- 
essary for this faculty to be separated from evil 
influences and wicked purposes! In an unguard- 
ed moment we may reach forth the hand and com- 
mit a deed that will sink the soul forever in hell. 
With the hand we may commit murder, burn a 
city, or scuttle a ship. They must be separated 
from all these perpetrations of wickedness — all 
these acts that darken the soul. 

When our Savior's innocent hands were nailed 
to the cross, his life-blood came trickling down his 
hands, signifying that our hands should be sepa- 
rated from all these wicked actions and set apart 
to be devoted to his glory. Separate them from 



42 THE FULL STATURE. 



doing things that good will not come out of, and 
devote them to the performance of such things as 
will result in God's glory. We have no right to 
devote our hands to the making of bread, unless 
it be done with a view of sustaining life, that we 
may do something in some way to help on the 
cause of our Master in the world, When we lay 
our hands to the plow, we must remember that 
God gave us our hands, the ground, the horses and 
the material from which the plow is made, and a 
part of the result of our labors should go to. build 
churches and spread the gospel. ''Whatsoever thy 
hand findeth to do. do it with thy might," and de- 
vote result to the Father in Heaven who gave you 
the hands. 

The right hand represents honor and friendship, 
and the Lord Jesus himself used his hands as 
instruments of action and expressive of Ids .sym- 
pathy and friendly feeling toward the suffering. 
Re took a damsel by the hand and said, "Arise. '" 
lie touched a blind man's eyes with ointment he 
made of spittle and clay with his hands, and he 
touched the ear and tongue of a deaf and dumb man 
with his hand. He took Peter by the? hand when 
lie was sinking beneath rolling waves of Galilee. 
Peter and John were going up into the temple, 
when P. dor took a poor beggar by the hand and 
raised him up and. sent him on his way rejoicing. 



THE FULL STATURE. 43 

There is always a certain thrill in a hearty shake 
of the hand, and how much more if the action is 
prompted by an honest heart filled with the Holy 
Ghost. Then if the hands are carefully separated 
from every evil action, and prayerfully devoted to 
the performance of good deeds, these hands are 
sanctified, according to the law of the Levitical 
sanctification. 

We have now reached the conclusion of our 
investigation. With a mind separated from all 
evil, to act in conjunction with a heart purified by 
the love of God; feet separated from all the paths 
of wickedness, and hands devoted to the perform- 
ance of good deeds, we have a man " complete in 
him who is the head over all," ready to devote 
himself entirely, soul and body, to the glory of 
God. Such a man will not be found in any of the 
popular places of vice, such as saloons, ball rooms, 
and theatres. It will not be necessary for the 
minister to go and see him every week in order to 
get him to go to church on Sunday. He will 
always be tound in his pew, and his money will 
always be ready to support the gospel. " ^Nearer 
my God to Thee " will be the sentiment and desire 
of his life. 







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